Chapter 23: Reality (4)
The headquarters of the Inspection Team was bustling with people coming and going.
When Jian Yuntai approached, the soldiers all fixed their eyes on him in unison, their gazes wary yet curious. Soon, a high-ranking soldier hurried out of the main entrance at a jog, anxiety written across his face. He tucked his firearm behind his waist and gave a deep, respectful salute.
“Mr. Jian!” His voice rang out like a bell. “The Inspection Team squad leader has been ordered to assist you.”
The shout was like poking a hornet’s nest. The soldiers on duty finally realized who Jian Yuntai was and quickly followed suit, saluting in unison. Beneath the blazing sun, every one of them stood armed and vigilant, their expressions tinged with fear as they slightly bowed their heads toward the same direction.
It was the first time Jian Yuntai had ever been addressed as “Mr.” A strange feeling stirred in his chest. He nodded and said, “Hello.”
Only then did the soldiers lower their hands.
Everyone here had heard of the Xiang’an Team’s formidable reputation. They all knew Jian Yuntai had almost joined the Xiang’an Team before, and their curiosity had long since reached its peak.
Even if they had been given a hundred times more courage, none of them would have dared to turn and look directly at him. Still, some secretly pricked up their ears, hoping to overhear what he was discussing.
…
…
“You mean I can take an Inspection Team car directly to the market wholesale center to buy food?” Jian Yuntai lowered his head to study the function Fatty had mentioned—“converting livestream coins into money.” Very quickly, he converted roughly two thousand livestream coins in his account into two hundred thousand yuan.
The Inspection Team captain nodded respectfully. “Yes! That is a travel privilege granted to members of the Zhao’an Team. According to the newly issued alliance regulations, we are considered your subordinates. When you go out, you may mobilize an entire squad to escort you.”
“How many people are in one squad?”
“One thousand in total.”
“…………”
Jian Yuntai imagined the scene and instantly found himself at a loss for words. He did not want to be surrounded by a thousand burly men again.
That would feel suffocating!
“One thousand is too many. Just assign three people. One to drive, and two to carry things.”
He said it lightly, but when the Inspection Team members heard it, their hearts trembled.
The news that Jian Yuntai had an S-level danger rating had already spread throughout the entire Inspection Team. Everyone was deeply wary of him. The moment they heard him decline the escort, their immediate interpretation was—
I alone am equivalent to an entire army. Don’t follow me, or if I’m displeased, I might just kill you all.
“!!!” It was as if they had all simultaneously grasped some hidden truth. They exchanged glances, each looking more terrified than the last.
…
…
The car drove into the central market. The living conditions in the slum district were extremely, extremely poor.
The muddy road was so narrow that only one car could pass at a time, with dilapidated shops lining both sides. People wore rain boots, their pant legs splattered with gray mud. When they saw the car, they looked startled and instinctively moved aside.
Ever since the world had warped, it had been rare to see cars in the slum district. Even families who once owned cars had sold them—if you could not even afford food, what was the point of keeping a vehicle?
When they noticed the Livestream Team insignia on the car, understanding flashed in their eyes, followed by envy.
During the fifteen-minute drive to the wholesale center, they witnessed nine street robberies—snatch and run. Three times, they saw pickpockets caught in the act. There was also one particularly unusual incident: a child no older than ten rushed in front of the car and forced it to stop, crying as he knelt on the ground and begged them for a little food.
The Inspection Team captain was kind-hearted. He rummaged around in the car for a long time and finally found a leftover breakfast bun.
The child grabbed it immediately and devoured it, bowing repeatedly toward the car as his sobs grew louder.
The car continued forward.
Jian Yuntai calmly glanced at the rearview mirror. As expected, before the car had even driven far, the bun in the child’s hands was snatched away by an adult vagrant.
The same thing had once happened to him. Back then, everyone had stood by and done nothing. Now, he had become one of those bystanders.
This damn twisted world, he thought.
…
…
With a screech, the car stopped in front of the wholesale market. The foot traffic here was just as heavy, the crowd packed shoulder to shoulder in constant noise.
“Mr. Jian, to protect your privacy, the other two team members won’t follow you inside. When I go in, I’ll wait for you at the shop entrance,” the captain asked cautiously. “Or would you prefer everyone to accompany you?”
“No need.” Jian Yuntai put away his phone and said, “Let’s get out. I’m just buying some food.”
“Yes!” The captain quickly got out of the car and walked around to open the door for him.
The wholesale center was simply a two-story building. The first floor was crowded with people. Behind the counter, a clerk impatiently barked at customers, “No money? Then what are you buying? This is a wholesale center. Things are a bit cheaper than outside, but you still have to buy in bulk. Otherwise, I can’t write you this order.”
He suddenly raised his voice. “If you don’t have money, stop blocking the way. Get out!”
The crowd was angry but did not dare to speak.
Jian Yuntai walked through the crowd and stepped forward, tapping his knuckles twice against the counter.
Knock, knock.
The clerk looked up at him impatiently.
“What are you buying? How much?”
“Compressed biscuits.” Since the transaction would be large, Jian Yuntai said directly, “Call your boss out.”
The clerk froze for a moment. The arrogance on his face faded slightly as he asked, “What’s your status?”
Jian Yuntai frowned.
Buying something required checking status? Was this guy sick in the head?
The clerk raised his brows and explained, “I’m an ordinary citizen. Our boss is a noble. By rights, someone of lower status can only wait—you can’t expect someone of higher status to come out and see you.” Seeing that Jian Yuntai did not object immediately, the clerk’s attitude changed as fast as a Sichuan opera face swap, turning even worse. “Are you a lowborn?”
He waved his hand as if brushing away dust. “Move aside, move aside. Lowborns stay to the side. Our boss is very busy.”
“…!!!”
Behind the crowd, the Inspection Team captain had heard everything and looked utterly horrified.
He stood on tiptoe to glance inside and saw that although the young man’s lips were slightly curved, his eyes were so cold it was chilling.
The captain felt even more terrified. For a moment, he almost wanted to turn and run, not daring to remain here any longer. He looked at the clerk as if staring at a dead man and inwardly collapsed: Why did this person have a death wish?!
Ahhhhhh! If you wanted to get yourself killed, fine—but why drag the entire store and its hundred-plus people down with you?
“Jian Yuntai, mental state extremely unstable.” The moment the captain recalled this evaluation, his fear reached its peak.
For a second, he could not decide whether he should step forward and drop to his knees on behalf of the clerk to beg for mercy.
—It never even occurred to him to help Jian Yuntai out of the situation. If things continued this way, Jian Yuntai would not need help at all; he might very well wipe out the entire shop himself!
※※
Inside a second-floor room of the wholesale market.
The crew-cut man and the dark-skinned man sat opposite the boss, while the others stood upright behind them.
The dark-skinned man spoke with a troubled expression, “Boss, I know you lowered your status to do business in the slum district and that you don’t lack money. But… we truly had no choice but to come beg you. Hacker Bai’s mental condition is far too unstable! He has headaches all day long now, to the point that he wants to smash his head against a wall. He keeps going mad and trying to break out of prison—we simply can’t control him. If he actually escapes one day, every single assistant in the Xiang’an Team will be dismissed.”
The other assistants behind him added bitterly, “He must replenish sugar, and it has to be exactly a 466 intake. We’ve tried so many places, but he didn’t like any of them. Only you can make it.”
“But I don’t have any stock left,” the boss said, his eyes shifting as he dragged out his tone. “Making it fresh is possible—”
The dark-skinned man immediately said, “Don’t worry, price isn’t a problem!”
The boss shook his head. “But I don’t lack money.”
The dark-skinned man’s face turned pale, not knowing what to do. The crew-cut man beside him suddenly spoke up. “Since you’ve already put it that way, Boss… let’s not beat around the bush. Whatever you want, just say it.”
Only then did the boss smile.
“I have a nephew who wants to enter the Livestream Team. Even as a medic would be fine. As long as he has an official position in the Livestream Team, that’s enough.”
While the dark-skinned man hesitated, Hacker Bai’s bloodshot, vicious eyes suddenly flashed through his mind. His whole body trembled violently, and he said quickly, “Fine. I’ll secretly arrange for him to replace someone else’s slot. As long as he keeps quiet, no one will find out.”
“Good!” The boss beamed.
The other assistants all breathed a sigh of relief.
An agreement was reached, and everyone in the room was pleased. Smiling, they opened the door.
The moment they stepped onto the stairs, they heard loud shouting from downstairs. “What are you all standing around for?!”
The hundred or so people inside the shop all looked furious, but due to the rigid class hierarchy, they could do nothing.
The clerk sneered disdainfully. When he saw members of the Xiang’an Team and the Inspection Team coming down, his expression changed instantly and he became much more enthusiastic.
With a swish, he jumped to his feet and hurried upstairs, bowing and scraping to the group.
Even the boss could not stand his bootlicking manner. He paused speechlessly for two seconds before introducing him. “This is the nephew I just mentioned. What do you think…?”
The clerk felt slightly nervous, but when the boss gave him a reassuring look that said Don’t worry, it’s settled, he shivered with excitement, feeling as though a pie had fallen from the sky and hit him.
He was beyond thrilled!
So thrilled that he almost wanted to howl on the spot. The Livestream Team had always been the place of his dreams. After joining, staff members could follow arrangements from above and be led by top-tier players into the easiest E-level instances, with a 100% survival rate!
That meant as long as he could work in the Livestream Team, he would never have to worry about instances for the rest of his life!
How could he not be happy?!
The clerk watched as the crew-cut man walked toward him and said excitedly, “I will definitely work hard in the Livestream Team—”
Before he could finish the word “work,” the crew-cut man hurried right past him and rushed downstairs.
Everyone on the second floor froze.
The indignant crowd on the first floor was equally confused.
Under countless gazes, the crew-cut man hurried anxiously to stand before someone. The young man stood calmly, leaning slightly against the counter with his weight tilted to one side, looking down at him.
As he drew closer, the crew-cut man grew even more fearful. Forcing himself to steady his nerves, he straightened his back and snapped into a salute with his five fingers pressed together.
“Greetings, sir!”
The shout rang out loudly. The murmuring crowd instantly fell silent. The entire shop became so quiet that a pin drop could have been heard.
Everyone was shocked.
The young man looked barely of age—how could he possibly be the superior officer of a high-ranking Inspection Team soldier?
Confusion filled their minds.
Upstairs, the clerk stared blankly at the scene below, unable to process it, as if he were dreaming.
Under everyone’s gaze, Jian Yuntai tilted his head slightly and looked directly at the crew-cut man. “Who are you?”
“Yesterday at the Livestream Building, I was the one who led you to the reception room…” the crew-cut man reminded him cautiously. He was about to continue when Jian Yuntai casually responded with an “Oh.”
“I remember now.”
The crew-cut man was instantly overwhelmed with flattered delight.
The person before him was a top figure transferred from the Xiang’an Team! He was on the same level as Hacker Bai—and even shared the same evaluation of being extremely mentally unstable. For such an important figure to remember someone as insignificant as him was completely unexpected!
At that moment, the assistants upstairs finally reacted… the one the crew-cut man had received yesterday was Jian Yuntai!
In an instant, they equated Jian Yuntai with Hacker Bai. Before coming here, they had already been “thoroughly tormented” by Hacker Bai’s madness—how could they dare show the slightest disrespect to Jian Yuntai now?
Thud, thud, thud—
Thud, thud, thud—
The sound of black boots pounding against the stairs rang out repeatedly, chaotic and hurried. Under the clerk’s increasingly horrified gaze, all the assistants rushed downstairs quickly yet cautiously.
“Greetings, sir!!!”
Dressed in Xiang’an Team uniforms, they scrambled to salute Jian Yuntai, afraid of being a second too late.
“…???”
In the dead silence, the clerk’s eyes widened bit by bit, his mouth opening wide enough to swallow an egg. His expression had already crossed into sheer terror.
—Damn it, who exactly was this young man?!
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